STANDARD  TIME 


FOR   THK 


United  States  of  America, 


CANADA  AND  MEXICO. 


►•♦- 


Special  attention  to  the  subject  referred  to  in  the  accom- 
pamjing  documents  is  respectfully  requested 


BY   THK 


AMERICAN  SOCIETY  OF  CIVIL  ENGINEERS, 

127  East  Twenty-Thibd  Stbeet, 
NEW  YORK. 


Should  the  Person  receiving  this  be  unable  to  send  a  roply,  he  will  confer  a  great  favor 
by  transmitting  the  circular  to  some  person  who  may  be  able  to  do  so. 


<~'0 


American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers. 


COMMITTEE  ON  STANDARD  TIME. 


SANDFORD  FLEMING,  Esq.,  Ottawa, 

Ex-Chief  Engineer  .of  the  Northern  Railway  of  Canada,  The  Inter-C!olo- 

nial  liaihvay,  and  The  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  Chairman. 

CHARLES  PAINE,  Esq.,  New  Yobk, 
General  Manager  New  York,  West  Shore  and  Buflfalo  Railroad. 

THEODORE  N.  ELY,  Esq.,  Altoona,  Pa., 
Superintendent  of  Motive  Power,  Pennsylvania  Railroad. 

J.  M.  TOUCEY,  Esq.,  New  York, 
General  Superintendent  New  York  Central  and  Hudson  River  Railroad. 

Professor  J.  E.  HILGARD,  Washington, 
Superintendent  United  States  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey. 

Professor    T.  EGLESTON,   New  York, 
School  of  Mines,  Columbia  College. 

General  T.  G.  ELLIS,  C.  E., 
Hartford,  Conn. 


New  York,  March  Lst,  1882. 

At  the  Annual  Meeting  of  the  American  Society  of  Civil  Engi- 
neers, held  at  New  York,  on  the  18th  ultimo,  resolutions  were  passed 
directing  that  a  general  invitation  be  extended  to  all  persons  and 
associations  specially  interested  in  the  subject  of  Standard  Time, 
to  co-operate  with  the  Society  in  an  effort  to  effect  a  satisfactory 
and  speedy  settlement  of  this  important  public  question. 

The  Committee  on  Standard  Time  has  been  requested  to  give 
effect  to  the  wishes  of  the  Society  in  this  behalf. 

Accordingly  the  Committee  seeks  for  the  desired  co-operation 
and  solicits  a  general  expression  of  opinion  from  persons  engaged 
in  connection  with  the  Railways  and  Telegraphs  of  the  country, 
and  from  all  others  specially  interested  in  the  question  through- 
out the  United  States,  Canada  and  Mexico. 

The  Committee  respt otfully  directs  the  attention  of  all  con- 
cerned to  the  accompanying  documents  elucidating  the  subject. 

The  Committee  cordially  invites  replies  to  the  series  of  questions 
which  accompany  this.  To  all  opinions  with  which  the  committee 
may  be  favored  due  weight  will  be  attached. 

After  the  receipt  of  replies  a  Convention,  duly  called,  will  meet 
at  Washington,  for  the  purpose  of  determining  the  Time  System 
which  it  would  be  advisable  to  adopt.  The  President  of  the  So- 
ciety has  been  authorized  to  invite  other  Societies  interested,  the 
several  State  governments,  the  governments  of  Canada  and  Mexico, 
and  the  various  departments  of  the  general  government  at  Wash- 
ington, to  send  representatives  to  the  Convention. 

Replies  are  requested  to  be  sent  without  delay  (i^«]iMiiMi|«hMing 

addressed 

^        ^    JOHN  BOGART, 

Secretary  A.  8.  C.  E,, 
127  East  Twbnty-Thibd  Stbest, 
NEW  YORK. 


SPECIAL  KOTE. 


As  authorized  and  requested  by  the  Society  at  the  Annual  Meeting, 
the  Committee  has  issued  a  series  of  questions  on  a  separate  sheet, 
with  the  view  of  eliciting  an  expression  of  opinio?i  froa  as  many  per- 
sons as  possible.  Some  of  the  questions  require  explanations,  but  the 
Committee  finds  it  difficult  to  narrow  explanaxions  to  limits  suffi- 
ciently small  to  be  read  by  men  whose  time  is  sevcjrely  taxed.  The  Com- 
mittee, however,  hopes  that  such  men  may  favor  them  with  replies,  at 
least  to  the  leading  questions.  To  other  persons  who  have  more  leisure 
and  who  may  desire  to  consider  the  wider  range  of  the  subject  and  ex- 
amine every  point  under  discussion,  the  following  documents  are  ap- 
pended to  the  resolutions  adopted  by  the  Society  and  the  report  of  the 
Committee.  The  details  of  the  scheme  for  Regulating  Time,  referred 
to  in  the  sheet  of  questions,  will  be  found  in  Appendix  No.  4,  to  which 
particular  attention  is  invited : 

No.  1.  Communication  read  at  the  Convention  of  the  American  So- 
ciety of  Civil  Engineers,  at  Montreal,  June,  1881  (page  9). 

No.  2.  Extracts  from  an  address  read  before  the  Association  for  the 
Beform  and  Codification  of  the  Law  of  Nations,  at  Cologne,  Prussia, 
August,  1881  (page  15). 

No.  3.  Extracts  from  an  address  read  at  the  International  Geographi- 
cal Congress,  at  Venice,  Italy,  in  September,  1881  (page  23). 

No.  4.  Cosmopolitan  scheme  for  regulating  time  with  accompanying 
diagram,  (page  28). 


0 


STANDARD  TIME. 

Resolutions  adopted  at   the  Annwil  Meeting  of  the  American   Society  of  OivU 

Engineers. 

January  IHth,  1882. 


Resolved,  That  the  report  of  the  Special  Committee  on  Standard 
Time  be  accepted,  and  that  the  Committee  is  hereby  requested  to  take 
such  steps  as  it  may  consider  necessary  to  obtain  information  to  enable 
it  to  report  definitely  at  a  future  meeting. 

Resolved,  That  the  authority  is  hereby  given  to  the  Committee  to  co- 
operate with  other  associations  in  furtherance  of  this  important  subject. 

Resolved,  That  authority  is  hereby  granted  to  the  President  of  this 
Society  to  invite  other  Societies  interested,  and  that  representatives  of 
State  Governments,  representatives  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  the 
Republic  of  Mexico  and  the  various  Departments  of  the  General  Gov- 
ernment at  Washington,  be  invited  to  meet  in  a  convention  as  set  forth 
in  the  report. 


6 


STANDARD   TIME 


REPORT    OF    THE    SPECIAL    COMMITTEE. 

House  op  the  Societt,         ) 
New  Yokk,  January  17tb,  1882.  \ 

The  Committee  appointed  to  consider  the  paper  on  Standard  Time, 
for  Railway  and  other  purposes,  read  at  the  Montreal  Convention,  June, 
1881,  beg  leave  to  report : 

The  Committee  have  examined  the  question  referred  to  them,  and 
fully  recognize  its  great  public  importance.  Practically  it  resolves 
itself  into  a  proposition  to  reform  our  general  time  system.  But  diffi- 
culties of  a  peculiar  nature  present  themselves.  The  Committee  does 
not  considpv  the  problem  insolvable  ;  but  from  its  character  it  is  clear 
that  no  single  association,  and  that  no  one  individual  can  solve  it. 
Every  member  of  society  is  interested  in  it,  and  it  becomes  necessary  to 
consult  many  interests  in  order  that  general  concurrence  in  any  change 
be  obtained. 

Since  the  subject  was  brought  under  the  notice  of  the  Society  in 
June  last  it  has  been  taken  into  consideration  by  other  associations : 
by  the  American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  at  Cincin- 
nati ;  by  the  American  Metrological  Society,  in  New  York  ;  by  the  Asso- 
ciation for  the  Reform  and  Codification  of  the  Law  of  Nations,  at 
Cologne,  Prussia ;  by  the  International  Geographical  Congress,  at 
Venice,  Italy. 

The  members  of  the  Committee  have,  since  their  appointment,  con- 
ferred individually  with  many  persons.  They  find  it  admitted  on 
all  sides  that  standard  time  lor  general  use  throughout  the  country  is 
tiT<*ently  demanded,  and  that  the  time  has  arrived  when  action  should 
be  taken. 


To  apprehend  that  the  question  is  one  of  importance,  it  is  only  nec- 
essary to  glance  at  the  existing  conilition  of  our  time  service.  Mistakes 
in  the  hour  of  the  day  are  frecpient.  In  every  State— in  every  city  or 
town— discrepancies  are  met  ^hich  produce  great  aggregate  inconven- 
ience. Thousands  of  engagements  are  broken.  Innumerable  disap- 
pointments and  losses  result.  In  some  cases  loss  of  life  is  caused,  and 
generally  in  consec^uencie  of  defects  in  oiir  time  system,  difficulties  more 
or  less  serious  constantly  are  exporiencod. 

These  difficulties  are  not  confined  to  this  country.  They  are  ex- 
perienced in  all  civilized  <!ommunities  where  lines  of  rapid  communica- 
tion have  been  established.  In  the  papers  before  the  Committee  it  is 
urged  that  the  question  is  one  which  affects  every  nationality,  and  there- 
fore any  change  which  may  bo  proposed  for  this  country  should  be  such 
as  to  commend  itself  to  other  nations  for  adoption,  so  as  ultimately  to 
become  universal. 

The  time  system  which  we  follow  has  been  in  use  for  centuries.  It 
certainly  answered  all  the  i^urposes  of  mankind  when  there  were  no 
railways,  no  steamboats,  and  no  telegraphs.  In  some  respects  the  general 
advancement  of  civilized  communities  has  outgrown  the  old  custom  : 
the  yearly  march  of  events  more  aud  more  rendering  it  obsolete,  and 
calling  for  reform  to  meet  the  condition  of  the  age  in  which  we  live. 

The  Committee  anticipate  difficulty  in  effecting  a  desirable  reform,  as 
no  change  in  a  matter  of  this  kind  can  be  effected  without  interfering  in 
a  greater  or  less  degree  with  long  established  usages  and  fixed  habits  of 
thought.  The  importance  of  the  question,  however,  appears  to  the 
Committee  to  justify  a  united  effort  to  obtain  as  complete  a  reform  as 
may  be  desirable  and  possible. 

The  Committee  feels  assured  that  the  general  intelligence  of  the  Com- 
munity will  cordially  sympathize  with  an  earnest  movement  to  bring 
about  such  modifications  in  our  time  system  as  may  be  practicable  and 
beneficial. 

The  people  of  the  old  world  are  influenced  by  traditional  customs, 
and  generally  are  attached  to  usages  on  account  of  their  antiquity. 
They  may  adhere  even  to  imperfections, — which  years  have  made  vener- 
able. On  this  continent  this  feeling  is  modified.  Americans  are  not,  to 
the  same  extent,  disposed  to  cling  to  conventional  forms  when  these 
forms  interfere  with  public  convenience,  or  when  they  retard  progress. 
It  is,  therefore,  clear  to  the  committee  that  we  should  not  remain  passive 


0 

tiQtil  other  natioDH  take  the  initiative  in  Time  reform.  For  in  this 
country  the  imperioua  power  of  custom  is  less  difficult  to  overcome. 

If  it  l>e  oousidered  that  the  initiation  of  such  a  time  system  as  the 
age  demands  properly  falls  within  the  province  of  the  people  of  America, 
it  becomes  the  more  necessary  that  we  shonld  make  earnest  eftbrts  to 
ascertain  not  simply  what  best  will  meet  the  reqiiireraents  of  the  hour, 
but  what  will  prove  most  generally  beneficial  to  our  own  and  succeeding 
generations  throughout  the  world. 

The  Committee  holds  it  expedient  to  obtain  an  expression  of  opinion 
on  the  various  points  which  present  themselves,  from  as  large  a  number 
of  practical  and  scientific  men  as  possible.  They  consider  it  essential 
to  have  the  views  of  those  who  have  been  and  are  now  engaged  in  con- 
nection with  the  great  lines  of  transportation  in  every  State,  and  Prov- 
ince between  the  two  Oceans. 

Accordingly  the  Committee  begs  leave  to  recommend  that  such  papers 
on  Standard  Time  as  it  may  consider  necessary  to  set  forth  the  sub- 
ject, be  printed,  and,  all  who  are  prominently  connected  with  Railway 
and  Telegraph  enterprises,  or  are  in  any  way  interested  in  the  consider- 
ation of  the  question  in  the  United  States,  in  Canada,  and  in  Mexico,  be 
cordially  invited  to  send  replies  to  the  series  of  questions  which  have 
been  prepared,  with  the  view  of  obtaining  all  shades  of  opinion. 

The  Committee  more  particularly  draw  attention  to  propositions  13 
to  20  in  the  scheme  which  accompanies  this.     (See  page  28.) 

It  has  been  held  by  those  who  have  given  attention  to  the  subject 
that  no  scheme  of  time  reform  can  be  considered  complete  without  pro- 
vision for  the  ultimate  removal  of  a  defect  familiar  to  many.  The  Com- 
mittee accordingly  direct  attention  to  the  suggestions  submitted  under 
the  heading  "Division  of  the  day  into  hours."    (See  page  31.)       ' 

The  Committee  respectfully  recommend  that  authority  be  granted  by 
the  Society  to  invite  the  co-operation  of  other  scientific  associations,  and 
that  of  other  bodies  in  the  furtherance  of  this  important  object,  and 
that  all  such  Societies  and  government  departments  interested  be  invited 
in  the  name  of  the  Society  to  attend  a  general  convention  to  meet  at 
New  York  or  Washington  on  a  day  hereafter  to  be  named,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  determining  the  Time  System  advisable  to  adopt. 

SANDFORD  FLEMING, 

Chairman. 


9 


APPENDIX  No.  1. 

Paper  read  before  the  Coni-ention  of  the  American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers 
held  at  Montreal,  Cmmda,  June  15fh,  1881. 


CCXXXf. 

(Vol.  X.— December,  1881.) 


ON  UNIFORM  STANDARD  TIME,  FOR  RAILWAYS, 

TELEGRAPHS  AND  CIVIL  PURPOSES 

GENERALLY. 


By  Sandford  FiiEMiNo,  M.  A.  C.  E. 


The  question  which  I  have  been  requested  to  bring  under  the  notice 
of  the  Convention,  although  not  strictly  of  an  engineering  character, 
from  its  nature  cannot  fail  to  be  of  interest  to  the  members  of  the  Ameri- 
can Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  many  of  whom  have  taken  a  prominent 
part  in  establishing  the  great  lines  of  communication  on  this  continent. 
To  the  large  number  of  its  members  connected  with  the  administration 
and  development  of  the  gigantic  railway  system  extending  between  the 
two  oceans,  which  in  length  are  but  little  less  than  100,000  mUes,  the 
subject  becomes  one  of  vital  importance. 

The  occasion  strikes  me  as  peculiarly  appropriate  for  submitting  for 
your  consideration  the  subject  to  which,  with  your  permission,  I  will 
briefly  refer.  The  Society  meets  for  the  first  time  beyond  the  limits  of 
the  United  States,  to  find  in  the  Dominion  of  Canada  a  cordial  welcome. 
Many  of  its  members,  in  attending  this  Convention,  must  have  travelled 
long  distances,  and  have  experienced,  in  one  way  or  another,  some  of  the 
difficulties  it  is  proposed  should  be  removed. 

The  definition  of  civil  time  and  its  scientific  determination  for  railway, 
telegraph  and  all  ordinary  purposes,  is  a  problem  to  which  a  solution  is 
imperatively  demanded  by  the  present  condition  of  civilization. 


10,    \r,^-yr;-y%./:^^ 

The  question  has  been  examined  by  the  American  Metrological 
Society,  New  York  ;  the  Imperial  Academy  of  Science,  St.  Petersburg  ; 
the  Boyal  Society,  London,  England  ;  the  Canadian  Institute,  Toronto, 
and  other  scientific  bodies. 

Its  importance  has  been  fully  admitted,  and  expressions  of  opinion 
have  been  obtained  as  to  the  means  of  overcoming  the  difficulties  which 
are  experienced. 

The  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  the  subjects  of  Her  Majesty,  the 
Queen,  occupy  together  the  greater  portion  of  North  America.  The  most 
friendly  relations  exist  between  us,  for,  in  the  main,  we  are  substantially 
one  people,  living  under  diflferent  Governments,  with  laws  and  customs 
essentially  identical.  On  all  sides  we  are  s^^tisfied  to  remain  separated 
by  our  political  affinities,  having  distinct  theories  and  beliefs  with  respect 
to  systems  of  government.  But  science,  like  every  noble  virtue,  knows 
no  national  boundary.  In  this  brief  note  I  can  recognize  none.  In 
alluding  to  matters  which  equally  concern  the  United  States  and  Canada, 
I  shall  refer  simply  to  this  country  or  to  this  continent. 

As  the  continent  extends  across  105  degrees  of  longitude,  an  indivi- 
dual at  the  western  limit  finds  himself  seven  hours  of  recorded  time  be- 
hind another  individual  at  the  extreme  eastern  side  at  the  same  moment  of 
absolute  time.  Much  of  the  intervening  country  is  but  thinly  settled,  but 
railways  and  telegraphs  traverse  from  ocean  to  ocean,  and  we  have  every 
gradation  of  difference  of  time  between  the  extreme  limit  of  seven  hours. 

According  to  the  system  of  notation  which  we  have  inherited  from 
past  centuries,  every  spot  of  earth  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific 
is  entitled  to  have  its  own  local  time.  Should  each  locality  stand  on  its 
dignity,  it  may  insist  upon  its  railway  and  its  other  affairs  being 
governed  by  the  time  derived  from  its  own  meridian.  The  smaller  and 
less  important  localities,  howevor,  as  a  rule,  have  found  it  ( onvenient  to 
adopt  the  time  of  the  nearest  city.  The  railways  have  laid  down  special 
standards  which  vary,  as  has  been  held  expedient  by  eich  separate 
management.  In  the  whole  country  there  is,  so  far,  an  irregular 
acknowledgment  of  more  than  one  hundred  of  these  artificial  and  arbi- 
trary standards  of  time.  The  consequences  of  this  system  are  unsatis- 
factory. They  are  felt  by  every  traveller,  and  in  an  age  and  in  a  country 
w!ien  all,  more  or  less,  travel,  the  aggregate  inconvenience  and  confusion 
is  very  great,  and  it  will  be  enormously  multiplied  as  time  rolls  on.  If 
the  system  already  results  in  difficulties  to  trouble  our  daily  life,  and  to 


11      '■^■'■''::'^^-:ro--;-^ 

lead  to  embarrassments  which  often  occapy  onr  courts  of  law,  which, 
indeed,  too  often  are  the  cause  of  loss  of  life,  what  will  be  the  conse- 
quences in  a  few  years,  when  population  will  be  immensely  increased 
and  travel  and  traffic  indefinitely  multiplied,  if  no  effort  be  made  to  effect 
a  change  ? 

The  societies  I  have  mentioned,  after  careful  examination,  have 
united  in  the  opinion  that  a  satisfactory  change  cannot  be  made  too  soon, 
and  they  have  adopted  resolutions  pointing  to  a  general  uniformity  and 
thorough  accuracy  in  time  reckoning.  They  believe  that  the  course  they 
have  recommended  will  greatly  facilitate  the  daily  transactions  of  busi- 
ness men,  greatly  increase  the  safety  of  the  travelling  public,  and  im- 
mensely benefit  the  whole  community. 

It  is  proposed  that  the  community  unite  in  an  effort  to  simplify  the 
system  now  in  use  by  reducing  the  number  of  time  standards  to  a  mini- 
mum by  substituting  for  an  indefinite  number  of  irregularly  established 
and  purely  local  standards  a  few  main  or,  as  they  may  be  termed,  conti- 
nental standards,  each  one  having  a  fixed  and  well  known  relation  to  all 
the  others.  It  is  proposed  to  have  these  standards  established  and  main- 
tained by  governmental  authority  ;  to  have  them  regulated  with  precision 
through  a  common  central  observatory,  and  through  these  standards  it 
is  proposed  to  keep  every  town,  city,  railway  and  steamboat  clock 
throughout  the  land  as  nearly  as  practicable  in  perfect  agreement. 

The  plan  of  arrangements  favored  by  the  Metrological  Society,New  York, 
and  the  Canadian  Institute,  Toronto,  is  to  have  the  standards  so  establish- 
ed that  they  will  be  exactly  one  hour  apart ;  that  is  to  say,  while  it  would 
be  nine  o'clock  at  one  standard  it  would  be  eight  o'clock  at  the  next  to 
the  west,  seven  o'clock  at  the  following,  and  so  on,  by  steps  of  exactly 
one  hour.  There  would  be  no  difference  in  the  minutes  and  smaller 
divisions  of  time.  If  the  time  be  ten  minutes  or  thirty  minutes  past  the 
hour  at  any  one  point,  it  would  at  the  same  instant,  in  absolute  time,  be 
ten  minutes  or  thirty  minutes  past  some  hour  at  every  point.  The  hours 
themselves  only  would  differ,  and  they  would  differ  only  in  designation 
according  as  the  localities  were  east  or  west.  At  the  same  instant  of 
absolute  time  every  clock  in  the  country  would  strike  either  one  hour  or 
another  ;  the  minute  and  second  hands  would  always  and  everywhere  be 
in  perfect  agreement. 

It  may  be  known  to  gentlemen  present  that  the  officers  of  the  United 
States  Signal  Service  have  evinced  a  deep  interest  in  the  question,  and  in 


12 

the  efforts  to  establish  uniformity,  accuracy  and  simplicity  of  system 
throughout  the  country,  General  Hazen,  Chief  Signal  Officer,  Wash- 
ington, has  expressed  his  earnest  desire  to  contribute  toward  the  public 
dissemination  of  standard  time.  He  considers  it  eminently  proper  that 
the  department  over  which  ho  presides  should,  as  far  as  practicable,  assist 
in  a  work  in  which  the  whole  community  is  interested,  and  he  offers  the 
active  co-operation  of  the  Signal  Service  in  every  part  of  the  United 
States,  in  the  maintenance  of  accurate  standard  time  and  giving  it  to  the 
public  by  dropping  time  balls  at  all  important  stations. 

Mr.  Oarpmael,  Chief  Director  of  the  Meteorological  Department  of 
Canada,  would  similarly  co-operate  in  every  practicable  way.  There 
would,  therefore,  be  no  difficulty  in  giving  effect  to  a  scheme  of  intro- 
ducing uniformity  of  time-reckoning  .throughout  North  America,  so  soon 
as  the  railway  and  telegraph  authorities  and  the  general  public  express 
concurrence. 

It  is  proposed  :  1.  That  the  exact  time  should  be  determined  astro- 
nomically at  a  central  observatory.  2.  That  every  town  of  any  importance 
should  have  a  public  time  signal  station.  3.  That  arrangements  be  made 
for  placing  each  station  in  electrical  connection  with  the  central  obser- 
vatory at  a  certain  hour  every  day.  4.  That  each  station  be  furnished 
with  automatical  apparatus  for  making  the  proper  signal,  either  by  drop- 
ping a  time  ball  or  by  firing  a  gun  at  the  proper  moment.  5.  That  all 
the  public  and  railway  clocks  in  each  and  every  locality  be  controlled 
electrically  from  the  public  time  signal  station. 

I  think  it  may  fairly  be  claimed  that  no  peoples  are  more  progressive 
or  more  ready  to  adopt  any  needed  change  or  manifest  improvement  than 
those  who  live  in  North  America.  And  as  there  is  no  country  except 
Russia  where  a  greater  necessity  is  presented,  or  a  better  field  offered  for 
the  introduction  of  a  comprehensive  system  of  uniformity  in  time  reck- 
oning, it  is  more  than  probable  that  in  this  country  the  change  will  first 
be  made. 

As  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  other  countries  will  in  due  time 
follow  the  example  of  America,  it  is  desirable  that  we  should  inaugurate 
a  system  which  will  readily  commend  itself  by  its  appropriateness  and 
simplicity.  One  that  will  have  the  best  prospect  of  being  ultimately 
adopted  throughout  the  world.  If  we  admit  the  principle  that  in  a 
question  of  this  kind  it  is  not  expedient  to  limit  our  view  to  any  city 
or  state  or  province,  but  to  embrace  in  our  system  the  whole  of  the  con- 


lb 

tinent,  it  seems  to  follow  that  we  should  take  a  still  broader  riew,  and 
endeavor  to  apply  the  principle  to  all  countries.  Steam  and  electricity 
are  rapidly  altering  the  conditions  of  life  everywhere,  they  are  girdling 
the  globe  and  bringing  all  countries  nearer  together.  We  get  our  unit 
measure  of  time  from  the  earth's  revolutions,  it  is,  therefore,  common 
property,  and  nothing  can  be  more  cosmopolitan  in  its  nature.  It 
is  perfectly  obvious  to  my  mind  that  a  system  of  uniform  time  which 
would  be  good  for  this  country  should  be  equally  good  for  all  countries 
on  the  face  of  the  globe. 

These  views  have  mel  with  the  ready  acquiescence  of  all  who  have 
given  them  careful  consideration,  and  the  system  recommended  by  the 
several  scientific  bodies  for  adoption  on  this  continent,  commends  itself 
as  a  scheme  which  all  nations  may,  with  advantage  to  themselves  and  to 
general  interests,  accept. 

The  American  Metrological  Society  and  the  Canadian  Institute  have 
each  papsed  resolutions  substantially  as  follows  : 

"Lesolved,  That  uniformity  of  time  throughout  the  United  States 
and  Canada  is  demanded  by  the  progress  of  events,  and  that  a  general 
system  by  which  time  may  be  reckoned  in  a  uniform  and  accurate  man* 
ner  by  the  people  of  all  nations  throughout  the  globe  is  of  the  highest 
importance. 

"Resolved,  That  a  great  service  will  be  rendered  to  the  world  by 
directing  the  public  mind  to  the  subject,  and  by  securing  the  general 
adoption  of  a  well  conceived  system  of  uniformity,  and  that  the  Society 
is  hereby  authorized  to  co-operate  with  other  bodies  in  recommending  a 
comprehensive  scheme  based  on  the  following  propositions  : 

"1.  Twenty -four  standard  meridians  (one  every  15  degrees  of  longi- 
tude) to  be  established  around  the  globe  for  reckoning  sectional  or  local 
time. 

"  2.  One  of  the  24  standards  to  be  selected  as  a  time  zero  or  initial 
meridian  for  reckoning  cosmopolitan  time. 

"  3.  The  time  zero  to  coincide  with  the  prime  meridian  to  be  com- 
mon to  all  nations  for  computing  longitude. 

"4.  The  twenty-four  standard  meridians  to  be  designated  by  names^ 
or  by  letters  of  the  alphabet,  or  by  degrees  of  longitude,  numbered  from 
the  prime  meridian  westerly. 


14 


<i 


5.  The  prime  meridian,  or  zero  for  time  and  longitude,  to  pass  near 
Behring  Strait  180  degrees  from  Greenwich. 

"6.  The  division  of  the  day  into  two  halves  of  twelve  hours  each  to 
to  be  discouraged,  and  a  single  series  numbered  from  I  to  XXIV,  sub- 
stituted. In  the  cosmopolitan  day,  or  period  of  time  between  two 
successive  passages  of  the  sun  over  the  prime  meridian,  the  single 
division  to  be  made  absolute. " 

I  may  avail  myself  of  this  opportunity  of  mentioning  that  the 
scheme  of  cosmopolitan  standard  time  is  being  brought  before  various 
European  societies  under  distinguished  auspices.  His  Excellency,  the 
Governor-General  of  Canada,  baa  been  good  enough  personally  to  evince 
a  deep  interest  in  the  question,  and  has  been  pleased  to  send  communi- 
cations to  France,  Belgium,  Prussia,  Austria,  Russia  and  Switzerland. 
The  subject  will  be  considered  by  the  Association  for  the  Reform  and 
Codification  of  the  Law  of  Nations,  at  their  meeting  in  August  next,  at 
Cologne,  in  Rhine-Prussia  :  and  it  will,  on  that  occasion,  find  warm 
advocates  in  Dr.  Barnard,  President  of  Columbia  College,  and  Mr. 
David  Dudley  Field,  of  New  York.  The  question  will  be  brought  under 
the  consideration  of  the  International  Geographical  Congress  at  Venice, 
in  September  next,  supported  by  such  men  as  Mr.  Otto  Strove,  Director 
of  the  Imperial  Observatory,  St.  Petersburg  ;  General  Hazen,  of  Wash- 
ington, and  others.  -       . 

In  bringing  these  propositions  under  the  notice  of  the  American 
Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  I  do  not  feel  justified,  on  an  occasion  like 
the  present,  to  refer  at  length  to  the  voluminous  papers  which  have 
been  written,  and  the  arguments  which  have  been  advanced,  in  connec- 
tion with  this  question.  Necessarily  I  have  been  brief,  and  I  respect- 
fully suggest,  in  order  further  to  save  the  time  of  the  Convention,  that 
a  committee  be  appointed  to  examine  and  report  at  a  future  meeting. 

I  feel  it  proper  to  add  that  as  the  great  object  is  to  determine  and 
establish  a  system  which  will  secure  the  greatest  advantages  to  the  com- 
munity, it  is  of  first  importance  to  have  the  proposition  carefully 
digested  by  those  whose  opinions  have  value  with  the  public.  An 
expression  from  this  body,  of  educated,  scientific  and  practical  men, 
must  carry  with  it  great  wulght,  and  will  exact  respect  in  every  quarter. 


15 


APPENDIX  No.  2. 

Extracts  from  an  address  read  before  the  Association  for  the  lieform  and  Codi- 
fication K)f  the  Tmw  if  Nations,  at  Cologne,  Prussia,  August,  1881,  by  Dr.  F.  A. 
P.  Barnard,  Delegate  from  the  United  States  of  America. 


THE   REGULATION  OF  TIME. 


The  propositions  which  I  have  the  honor  to  present  to  the  considera- 
tion of  the  Conference  ait'ect  the  personal  convenience  of  every  inhab- 
itant of  every  civilized  land,  and  that  not  occasionally  only,  but 
continually.  The  regulation  of  time  connects  itself  with  every  act  and 
every  incident  of  social,  religious,  commercial  or  industrial  life.  Banks 
open  and  close  their  doors,  churches  arrange  the  order  of  their  services, 
transportation  companies  regulate  the  movements  of  their  trains,  courts 
and  legislatures  adjust  the  times  of  their  assembling  and  their  adjourn- 
ment, theatres  and  other  places  of  amusement  announce  the  hours  of 
their  performances  or  exhibitions,  and,  finally,  society  fixes  the  times  of 
its  various  appointments,  for  purposes  of  pleasure  or  business,  in  accord- 
ance with  some  standard,  which,  if  not  universally  satisfactory,  is  at 
least  universally  understood.  Thus  the  question,  What  shall  be  the 
standard  of  time?  is  one  which  affects  every  man  every  hour  of  his  life, 
and  one  ii^  which  he  is  compelled  to  take  an  interest. 

In  the  United  States  of  America  and  in  Canada  the  desirability  of  the 
adoption  of  some  universally  recognized  system  for  the  regulation  of 
the  divisions  of  the  day  has  long  been  felt;  and  a  movement  commenced 
about  two  years  ago,  by  two  scientific  organizations,  viz.,  the  American 
Metrological  Society,  of  New  York,  and  the  Canadian  Institute,  of 
.  Toronto,  Canada,  has  already  been  successful  in  drawing  public  atten- 
tion to  a  definite  scheme  of  time-regulation  for  the  Continent  of  America, 
which  is  rapidly  gaining  ground  in  the  favor  of  the  people. 


It  is  to  be  noticed,  in  the  firbt  place,  that  the  time  kept  by  clocks  and 
watches  in  our  country  is  not,  gonerrliy,  the  exact  local  time  of  the 
place  where  the  owners  of  such  timepi«  ces  reside.  Upon  every  great 
Hue  of  railway  it  is  indispensible,  in  oraer  to  secure  safety  and  regu- 
larity  in  the  movement  of  trains,  that  the  time  kept  should  be  unifor  n 
from  end  to  end.  And  as  some  of  these  long  lines  extend  over  from  five 
to  ten  deg-ees  of  longitude,  while  the  standard  time  kei)t  by  them  is 
usually  that  of  one  of  their  termini,  it  follows  that,  at  ditferent  points  of 
the  road,  the  railway  time  differs  from  the  local  time,  ten,  twenty,  thirty 
or  more  minutes.  Yet,  such  is  the  relative  importance  of  the  railway 
traffic,  in  comparison  with  that  of  interests  purely  local,  that,  in  prac- 
tice, the  railway  time  supersedes  the  local  time,  and  all  the  affairs  of 
life  are  regulated  in  accordance  with  it.  In  some  large  towns  two  kinds 
of  time  are  kept;  as,  for  instance,  at  Buffalo,  New  York,  where,  in  the 
same  houses,  may  be  found  two  clocks,  one  of  them  giving  the  time  of 
the  place,  and  the  other  that  of  New  York  City,  which  is  the  railway 
time,  and  is  twenty  minutes  faster. 

It  sometimes  happens  that  towns  not  distant  from  each  other  are 
situated  on  different  lines  of  railway  keeping  different  times.  In  passing, 
by  ordinary  vehicles,  from  one  of  these  towns  to  another  there  is  exper- 
ienced the  inconvenience  of  finding  one's  watch  entirely  out  of  harmony 
with  the  time-keepers  of  the  locality  visited.  But  a  still  greater  incon- 
venience occurs  in  those  towns  which  lie  at  the  intersections  of  two  or 
more  important  roads — and  there  are  a  good  many  such— for  here  it  is 
necessary  to  keep  account  of  as  many  systems  of  time  as  there  are  inter- 
secting ways.  From  an  investigation  made  by  Professor  Oleveland 
Abbe,  of  the  United  States  Weather  Signal  Office,  at  Washington,  it 
appears  that  the  railway  times  kept  by  different  transportation  compa- 
nies in  the  United  Stalies  correspond  to  no  fewer  than  seventy  meridians, 
and  the  total  number  of  such  varieties  is  probably  not  less  than  one 
hundred.  Now,  so  far  as  the  transaction  of  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life 
in  each  particular  locality  is  concerned,  this  extraordinary  variety  is  of 
no  consequence  to  the  inhabitants.  But  in  all  matters  which  concern 
the  mutual  relations  of  the  inhabitants  of  different  places  the  case  is 
otherwise.  Without  a  knowledge  of  the  times  of  both  places  it  is  quite 
possible  that  appointments  in  regard  to  affairs  of  important  concern 
may  be  wholly  disconcerted.  And  without  a  similar  knowledge  one  may 
fail  to  meet  a  train  on  which  he  had  counted,  and  may  thus  be  subjected 


./^■'',;vv   .':.V'-  17 

to  unanticipated  delay  and  other  oonseqnent  disadvantages.  It  is,  o( 
oourao,  hardly  necessary  to  mention  the  degree  to  which  tbo  usefulness 
of  the  time-tables  issued  by  the  rariouH  transportation  companies  is 
impaired,  for  the  purposes  of  the  traveller,  when  the  time  standards  of 
all  these  companies  are  different.  But  the  embarrassment  to  the  tourist, 
however  great,  is  of  less  importance  than  that  which  is  suffered  by  the 
permanent  resident.  >   ' 

Now,  considering  the  fact  that,  for  our  own  Continent  of  America  the 
time  actually  kept  at  any  place  is  usually  purely  conventional,  and  is 
not  the  true  local  time  of  the  place  itself,  considering  that  this  is  also 
true  in  England,  and  is,  probably,  to  a  great  extent  true  of  the  Continent 
of  Europe,  and  considering  that  identity  of  the  conventional  with  the 
local  time  is  unimportant  when  the  standard  of  time  actually  used  is 
understood,  it  has  seemed  to  us  that  by  the  adoption  of  a  system  accord- 
ing to  which  all  time-keepers  throughout  the  world  might  be  made  to 
agree  as  to  the  minute  and  second,  and  to  differ  only,  as  longitudes 
differ,  in  regard  to  the  hour,  all  the  confusion  which  exists  in  conse- 
quence of  the  present  variety  of  time-standards  might  be  wholly  elimi- 
nated, to  the  great  benefit  of  the  people  of  all  civilized  lands.  The 
adoption  of  this  system  would  involve  the  recognition  of  twenty-four 
fixed  meridians,  distant  from  each  other  by  a  constant  difference  of 
fifteen  degrees  of  longitude,  and  determined  in  position  by  some  one  of 
the  number  distinguished  as  the  prime  or  zero  meridian.  The  moment 
of  the  passage  of  the  mean  sun  over  each  of  these  meridians  is  to  be 
regarded  as  the  hour  of  mean  noon  for  that  meridian,  and  for  all  places 
which  are  nearer  to  it  than  they  are  to  any  other.  Thus  the  largest 
difference  which  can  occur  between  conventional  time  and  true  local 
time  will  be  thirty  minutes,  and  the  hour  will  change  at  a  line  half-way 
distant  between  any  two  meridians. 

The  system  here  described  was  proposed  originally  for  the  United 
States  by  Professor  Cleveland  Abbe,  of  the  United  States  Signal  Service 
(as  mentioned  above),  in  a  report  to  the  American  Metrological  Society, 
and  also  (without  concert  with  Professor  Abbe)  by  Sandford  Fleming, 
Esq.,  late  Chief -Engineer  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Bail  way,  and  now 
titular  Chancellor  of  Queen's  University,  at  Kingston,  Ont.,  in  a  paper 
read  by  him  before  the  Canadian  Institute,  and  since  published.  In 
these  papers  it  was  proposed  to  adopt,  for  the  American  Continent,  five 
meridians,  of  which  the  central  one  should  be  situated  bit  hours  west  of 


18 

Oreonwioh,  and  should  pass  almont  centrally  tkrongh  the  City  of  New 
OrleanH.  The  time  of  this  meridian,  being  that  prevailing  through  the 
principal  Stut<fa  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  and  the  British  province  of 
Manitoba,  is  diHtinguislied  as  valley  time.  The  flve-hotir  meridian  passes 
near  Now  York,  and  govurns  the  States  lying  on  the  Atlantic,  together 
with  the  two  Canadas,  giving  them  what  is  hence  called  Atlantic  time. 
The  four-hour  meridian  crosses  the  island  of  Newfoundland,  and  gives 
what  is  called  eastern  time  to  that  island,  and  to  Nova  Scotia,  New 
Brunswick  and  the  remaining  British  possessions  east  of  Canada.  The 
seven-hour  meridian  passes  through  the  City  of  Denver,  and  almost 
exactly  over  the  United  States  Signal  Station  on  the  summit  of  Pike's 
Peak,  more  than  14,000  feet  high,  in  Colorado.  It  gives  time  to  the 
States,  Territories  and  provinces  lying  on  and  about  the  great  central 
ridge  of  the  Continent,  which  is  hence  called  mountain  time.  The  eight- 
hour  meridian  falls  a  little  east  of  San  Francisco,  and  almost  exactly  on 
the  small  sea-coast  town  of  Santa  Barbara,  in  California.  From  this 
the  States  of  the  Union  which  lie  on  the  Pacific,  and  the  British  prov- 
inces on  the  same  ocean,  derive  their  time,  which  it  is  proposed  to  dis- 
tinguish as  Paci^c  ;fme.  .    ii 

The  bounding  lines  between  the  successive  meridians,  at  which  the 
count  of  the  hour  shall  change,  it  is  not  proposed  to  define  with  the 
same  geometrical  iirecision  which  characterizes  the  meridians  them- 
selves. The  idea  is  rather  to  follow  any  well-known  natural  or  political 
divisions  which  fall  approximately  midway  between  the  meridians,  and 
which  will  serve  as  easily  remembered  reference  boundaries.  On  the 
American  Continent  such  lines  of  demarcation  are  easily  Tound.  The 
States  and  provinces  which  touch  the  Mississippi  river  will  use  valley 
time;  the  Canadas,  and  the  States  of  the  Union  which  lie  east  of  these 
valley  States,  and  most  of  which  touch  the  Atlantic,  will  use  Atlantic 
time;  the  British  provinces  farther  eastward  will  use  eastern  time;  the 
States  and  provinces  which  touch  the  Pacific  will  use  Pacific  time;  and 
all  those  which  lie  between  the  Pacific  States  and  the  valley  Statec  will 
use  mountain  time. 

The  means  by  which  we  expect  to  establish  this  system  on  the  Amer- 
ican Continent,  are  partly  the  voluntary  action  of  the  transportation 
companies;  partly  the  co-operation  of  municipal  corporations  and  cham- 
bers of  commerce,  and  partly  local  legislation.  Already  many  local 
organizations  have  taken  steps  for  the  establishment  of  time  balls,  and 


19 

other  time  Hignals,  iti  furtheranco  of  thu  praotioal  introduction  of  the 
syHtuui.  The  Stuto  of  Connouticut  hu8  ouucteil  u  utatuto  making  the  Ufse 
of  Now  York  time  oompiilHory  upon  all  transportatioti  compunieB  within 
her  limits.  Tho  chief  Hignal  officer  of  the  United  StateH,  Generul  W.  B. 
Ha/en,  hu8  warmly  interested  himself  in  the  scheme,  and  has  offered  the 
gervi(!es  of  his  corps  to  operate  daily  any  apparatus  for  the  distribution 
of  time  whi(;h  may  be  erected  at  any  of  the  numerous  stations  of  his 
extensive  service.  The  same  otUcer,  and  associated  with  him  Mr.  Chan- 
cellor Fleming,  above  referred  to,  and  the  present  speaker,  have  been 
constituted  a  joint-committee,  on  the  part  of  the  American  Metrological 
Society  and  the  Canadian  Institute,  to  present  this  subject  to  the  con- 
sideration of  the  International  Geographical  Congress,  which  is  to  meet 
in  Venice  on  the  15th  of  September  proximo,  in  the  hope  of  obtaining 
for  it  the  approval  of  that  body ;  and  I  have  been  specially  charged  by 
the  Metrological  Society  just  mentioned,  of  which  I  have  the  honor  to 
be  president,  to  ask  for  it  the  favorable  consideration  of  this  Asso- 
ciation. ■'■;'':'  .,'■;  u-  , 

The  Oovernor-Oeneral  of  Canada,  the  Marquis  of  Lome,  has  been 
pleased  to  int^^rest  himself  actively  in  promoting  the  success  of  the 
movement.  The  papers  relating  to  it  which  have  been  published  by  the 
two  associations,  whose  titles  have  just  been  mentioned,  have  been  for- 
warded by  Lord  Lome,  through  the  British  Foreign  Office  in  London, 
to  oountiies  with  which  Great  Britain  is  in  diplomatic  relations,  and  to 
their  scientific  associations;  and  from  the  Imperial  Academy  of  Sciences 
at  St.  Petersburg  have  been  received  copies  of  a  report  from  a  com- 
mittee, of  which  the  eminent  astronomer  Otto  Struve  was  chairman, 
cordially  approving  the  project,  which  report  was  adopted  by  the 
Academy. 

Two  or  three  minor  features  of  the  scheme  contained  in  the  resolu- 
tions proposed  remain  to  be  mentioned.  The  first  of  these  is  the  propo- 
sition to  abolish  the  present  division  of  the  day  into  two  equal  portions 
of  twelve  hours  each,  and  to  employ  instead  a  continuous  count  running 
from  one  to  twenty -four  hours  in  each  day.  The  division  at  present  in 
use  is  not  a  natural  one.  It  is  founded,  presumably,  upon  the  custom 
of  astronomers  to  begin  the  day  at  the  meridian  passage  of  the  sun,  or 
the  habit  of  the  people  to  fix  the  moment  of  apparent  noon  by  observ- 
ing the  coincidence  of  the  shadow  of  a  vertical  stile  with  a  line  drawn 
north  and  south.    The  natural  division  of  the  day  is  into  a  light  portion 


20 

and  a  dark  portion.    These  portions  are  always  and  everywhere  unequal, 
except  for  a  single  day  in  the  year,  or  for  a  single  great  circle  of  the 
earth — the  equator.    No  exact  system  for  the  uniform  division  of  time 
can,  therefore,  be  founded  upon  them.     On  the  other  hand,  no  disad- 
vantage can  arise  from  regarding  the  day  as  a  unit  subdivided  into 
twenty-four  equal  fractions,  a  mode  of  division  once  very  general,  at  least 
in  Italy,  and  hardly  yet  entirely  abandoned;  while  there  are  very  appre- 
ciable disadvantages  attending  the  present  division  into  twelve-hour 
moieties.    The  first  of  these  is  the  necessity  of  using  always  in  speech 
the  word  forenoon  or  qflernoon,  in  order  to  identify  the  portion  of  the 
day  to  which  any  hour  which  happens  to  be  mentioned  is  to  be  referred; 
or,  in  writing,  to  place  after  the  number  of  the  hour  the  explanatory 
suffix,  A.  M.  or  p,  M.    Another,  and  even  greater,  is  the  uncertainty  in 
railway  time-tables  as  to  whether  a  particular  hour  is  an  hour  of  the 
night  or  of  the  day.      The  compact  form  of  these  tables  renders  it 
impossible  always  to  introduce  the  necessary  specifications  in  their  coJ 
umns,  and  the  inquirer  is  thus  often  left  at  a  loss.     Some  of  these  tables, 
in  order  to  remove  the  embarrassment,  have  employed  the  expedient  of 
printing  the  hours  of  the  night  in  white  letters  upon  a  black  ground, 
while  those  of  the  day  are  printed  in  the  usual  way — with  black  letters 
upon  a  white  ground;  but  the  very  adoption  of  this  expedient  is  a  con- 
fession of  the  existence  of  an  evil  which  we  may  easily  perceive  to  be 
quite  unnecessary.     Let  the  hours  of  the  day  be  only  continuously 
numbered  from  beginning  to  end,  and  there  will  never  be  any  uncer- 
tainty as  to  which  part  of  the  day  is  meant. 

Another  of  the  secondary  features  of  the  scheme  is  the  designation  of 
a  zero  meridian.  The  zero  meridian  is  that  from  which  terrestrial  longi- 
tudes begin  to  be  reckoned,  and  that  at  which,  at  the  close  of  the  day, 
the  count  of  the  day  in  the  monthly  calendar  shall  be  momentarily  the 
same  for  the  entire  globe.  Any  meridian  which  might  be  chosen,  and 
which  should  be  generrUly  accepted,  would  answer  for  this  purpose  ; 
but  such  a  selection  ought  not  to  be  made  through  mere  idle  caprice. 
Begard  should  be  had  to  usages  actually  existing  ;  and  if  there  is  any 
meridian  which  has  already  become  more  familiar  than  any  other  to  the 
great  majority  of  mankind,  that  circumstance  should  be  counted  in  its 
favor.  In  a  contribution  made  by  me  some  ten  years  ago  to  a  provisional 
code  of  international  law  drawn  up  under  authority  of  a  resolution  of 
this  Association,  by  the  Hon.  David  Dudley  Field,  afterwards  President 


21 

of  the  Association,  I  endeavored  to  assign  some  reasons  why  the  merid- 
ian of  Greenwich  is  entitled  to  be  regarded  as  rightfully  the  first  merid- 
ian for  purposes  of  longitude .  But  the  same  reasons  apply  with  equal 
force  to  the  inferior  meridian  of  Greenwich — that  is  to  say,  to  the  me- 
ridian twelve  hours  distant  in  time,  and  180  degrees  distant  in  longitude 
from  Greenwich  itself  ;  and  as  I  have  found,  in  consultation  with  others, 
that  there  might  be  danger  of  awakening  national  susceptibilities  by 
insisting  on  Greenwich  (though,  for  myself,  I  fail  to  find  this  considera- 
tion serious),  I  have  yielded  my  first  opinion,  and  propose  to  fix  the  first 
meridian  for  time  and  for  terrestrial  longitude  at  the  180th  degree  from 
Greenwich,  so  that  this  first  meridian  will  fall  almost  entirely  upon  the 
open  ocean.  As  in  the  monthly  calendar  the  change  of  count  must 
begin  first  at  some  particular  meridian,  it  is  desirable  that  this  change 
shall  take  place,  if  possible,  beyond  the  limits  of  all  habitable  lands  ; 
and  this  is  true  of  the  meridian  proposed,  since,  except  a  small  portion 
of  wild  and  desolate  sub-arctic  Kamschatka,  it  scarcely  touches  any  por- 
tion of  the  earth's  surface  uncovered  by  water.  At  this  assumed  first 
meridian,  therefore,  the  day  in  ordinary  chronology  will  begin  when  the 
mean  sun  is  on  the  meridian  of  Greenwich  ;  so  that,  in  fact,  it  will  be 
identical  with  the  astronomical  day  as  reckoned  at  that  observatory. 

The  last  of  the  secondary  features  of  the  scheme  which  I  have  to 
notice,  is  the  proposition  to  establish,  for  purposes  of  pure  chro- 
nology, and  for  the  facilitation  of  synchronous  observations  in  science, 
a  special  time-reckoning  under  the  name  of  cosmopolitan  time.  So  long 
as  the  dimensions  of  the  known  world  were  limited  in  longitude  between 
the  Indies  on  the  east  and  the  Ganary  Islands  on  the  west,  there  was  no 
danger  of  a  oonfosion  of  chronology  to  arise  from  a  mistake  of  an  entire 
day  in  a  date.  But  at  the  present  time,  and  since  civilization  has 
encircled  the  entire  globe,  it  is  a  fact  that  there  are  certain  houm  in 
every  twenty-four,  during  which,  for  one  entire  half  the  habitable  world, 
the  date  is  a  unit  more  advanced  in  the  monthly  calendar  than  in  the 
other.  The  change  of  count  must  hdve  a  beginning  somewhere.  In  the 
absence  of  any  distinct  cunvention  on  the  subject,  it  is  generally  under- 
stood that  this  change  begins  somewhere  in  the  Pacific  Ocean.  It  hap- 
pens, therefore,  that  at  the  moment  when  the  sun  is  on  the  meridian 
opposed  to  that  of  Greenwich,  the  date  for  all  Asia  and  all  Continental 
Europe  may  be,  for  example,  the  first  of  January  before  noon,  while  for 
the  entire  American  Continent  it  is  still  the  thirty -first  of  December. 


22 

On  the  other  hand,  when,  twelve  hours  later,  the  sun  is  on  the  Green- 
wich meridian,  the  date  will  be  the  first  of- January  for  all  the  world,  but 
will  be  afternoon  for  Asia  and  Europe  and  forenoon  for  America.  At 
present  the  change  of  count,  as  above  observed,  is  supposed  to  begin  in 
the  Pacific  Ocean.  But  if  we  are  to  be  exact,  it  ought  to  begin  at  some 
certainly  defined  meridian ;  and  the  present  proposition  is  to  make  it 
begin  at  the  meridian  distant  twelve  hours  from  Greenwich. 

The  time  determined  by  the  proposed  zero  meridian  is,  according  to 
a  suggestion  of  Mr.  Fleming  adopted  in  the  resolution,  to  be  distin- 
guished as  cosmopolitan  time,  and  might  equally  be  called  universal  or 
absolute  time.  Any  observation  made  in  cosmopolitan  time  will  be  fixed 
with  absolute  certainty  both  in  the  chronological  sequence  and  in  the 
hours  of  the  day,  and  it  can  easily  be  converted,  by  the  addition  or  sub- 
traction of  an  even  number  of  hours,  into  the  particular  time  of  each 
standard  meridian.  Mr.  Fleming  proposes,  also,  that  the  hours  of  this 
universal  time  shall  be  distinguished  by  symbols  or  letters  rather  than 
by  numbers.  The  value  of  this  suggestion  consists  in  the  fact  that,  by 
means  of  it,  the  danger  will  be  averted  of  ever  confounding  cosmopolitan 
time  with  that  of  any  other  except  the  prime  meridian.  It  is  not  other- 
wise insisted  on  as  a  feature  of  special  importance. 


23 


APPENDIX  No.  3. 

Extracts  from  an  address  read  at  the  International  Geographical  Congress,  at 
Venice,  Italy,  September,  1881,  by  Sandford  Fleming,  Delegate  from  the  United 
States  and  Canada. 


THE  ADOPTION  OF  A  PRIME  MERIDIAN  AND  TIME- 
ZERO,  TO  BE  COMMON  TO  ALL  NATIONS, 

IN  COSTNKCTION  WITH 

THE  REGULATION  OF  TIME. 


The  unification  of  initial  meridians  has  been  advocated  in  the  interests 
of  geography,  astronomy  and  navigation.  I  shall  accept  all  the  argu- 
ments which  have  been  advanced  on  behalf  of  these  extremely  important 
interests,  and  crave  your  indulgence  while  I  submit  additional  reasons 
for  the  establishment  of  a  common  prime  meridian  for  all  the  world. 

I  propose  to  direct  your  attention  to  arguments  which  spring  from 
the  relations  of  time  and  longitude  and  the  rapidly  growing  necessity  in 
this  age  for  reform  in  time  reckoning. 

If  we  take  into  view  the  whole  earth,  we  hsive  at  the  same  instant  in 
absolute  time,  noon,  midnight,  sunrise,  sunset,  and  all  intermediate 
gradations  of  the  day.  The  telegraph  system,  which  is  gradually  spread- 
ing like  a  spider's  web  over  the  surface  of  the  globe,  is  practically  bring- 
ing this  view  of  our  sphere  before  all  civilized  communities.  It  leaves 
no  interval  of  time  between  widely  separated  places  proportionate  to 
their  distances  apart.  It  brings  points  remote  from  one  another,  enjoy- 
ing all  the  different  hours  of  daylight  and  darkness,  into  close  contact. 
Under  our  present  system  of  notation,  confusion  is  developed,  and  all 
count  of  time  is  thrown  into  disorder. 

The  local  civil  day  begins  twelve  hours  before  and  ends  twelve  hours 
after  the  sun  passes  the  meridian  of  a  place.  As  the  globe  is  constantly 
revolving  on  its  axis,  a  fresh  meridian  is  every  moment  passing  under 
the  sun.    As  a  consequence,  a  day  is  always  somewhere  beginning  and 


24 

always  somewhere  ending.  Each  spot  around  the  oiroumference  of  the 
sphere  has  its  own  day,  and  therefore  there  are,  daring  every  diurnal 
revolution  of  the  earth,  an  infinite  number  of  local  days,  all  beginning 
within  the  space  of  twenty -four  hours,  and  each  continuing  for  twenty - 
four  hours.  These  days  overlap  each  other,  and,  theoretically,  they  are  as 
perfectly  distinct  as  they  are  infinite  in  number.  There  are  no  simulta- 
neous days  except  on  the  same  meridian,  and  as  the  different  days  are 
always  in  the  various  stages  of  advancement,  difficulties  must  necessarily 
result  in  assigning  the  period  when  an  event  takes  place.  The  telegraph 
may  give  the  exact  local  time  of  the  occurrence,  but  it  will  be  in  disagree- 
ment with  the  local  times  on  every  other  meridian  around  the  earth.  An 
event  occurring  any  one  day  may  on  the  instant  be  announced  some- 
where the  previous  day,  or  somewhere  else  the  following  day.  About 
the  period  when  one  month  or  year  passes  into  another  month  or  year, 
an  occurrence  may  actually  take  place  in  two  different  months,  or  in  two 
different  years,  according  to  local  reckoning. 

It  will  be  readily  conceded  that  this  system  is  extremely  unscientific  : 
that  it  possesses  all  the  elements  of  confusion,  and  produces  a  degree  of 
ambiguity  which  cannot  long  be  tolerated  ;  that  as  time  rolls  on  it  will 
lead  to  grave  complications  in  social  and  commercial  affairs  ;  that  it  will 
produce  serious  errors  in  chronology  ;  that  it  will  lead  to  litigation,  and 
result  generally  in  difficulties  of  various  kinds.  According  to  our  present 
system,  there  can  be  no  absolute  certainty  with  regard  to  time  unless  the 
precise  geographical  position  be  specified  as  an  important  element  of  the 
date.  It  is  evident  that  it  will  be  exceedingly  inconvenient  and  trouble- 
some, when  rapid  communication  becomes  universal,  to  bring  the  times  of 
different  countries  and  localities  into  agreement ;  and  that  the  necessity 
for  doing  so  by  additions  or  deductions  for  differences  in  longitude  will 
undoubtedly  clog  the  ordinary  business  of  the  world. 

It  is  proposed  to  obviate  the  difficulty  by  a  system  of  cosmopolitan 
time  reckoning,  the  chief  peculiarity  of  which  is  the  adoption  of  one 
particular  meridian  as  a  standard  time-zero,  and  by  an  extremely  simple 
arrangement  regulating  the  times  at  all  places  on  the  globe  by  a  direct 
reference  to  the  common  standard.  It  is  obvious  that  the  world's  time- 
zero  should  coincide  with  the  prime  meridian  to  be  used  in  common 
by  all  nations  for  reckoning  terrestrial  longitudes. 

I  proceed  to  subirit  special  and  more  urgent  reasons  for  the 
selection  of  a  common  initial  meridian  and  time-zero.     I  shall  confine 


25 

my  observations  to  the  case  of  North  America,  a  country  with  which  I 
am  most  familiar,  but  the  remarks  I  venture  to  submit  will  doubtless 
apply  to  other  great  divisions  of  the  earth's  surface. 

The  gigantic  system  of  railways  and  telegraphs  which  has  been  estab- 
lished in  America  has  developed  social  and  commercial  conditions  ^hioh 
never  previously  existed  in  the  history  of  the  human  race.  These  conditions 
'  have  affected  the  relations  of  time  and  distance  in  a  manner  which  shows 
that  the  system  of  notation  which  we  have  inherited  is  defective  ;  that  it 
leads  to  confusion,  causes  loss  of  time  and  disturbs  the  arrangements  of 
travellers  and  business  men  ;  that  it  frequently  results  in  loss  of  life,  and 
leads  to  difiSculties  of  various  kinds  ;  that  under  the  circumstances  which 
have  followed  the  extensive  employment  of  steam  and  electricity  as 
m  ::ans  of  rapid  communication,  it  is  generally  inappropriate. 

The  question  has  therefore  become  a  matter  of  great  public  import- 
ance, and  attention  is  seriously  directed  to  the  simplest  and  best  means 
of  removing  an  impediment  to  commerce  and  general  intercourse. 

The  system  which  we  follow,  and  which  has  been  followed  for  ages, 
was  not  so  objectionable  half  a  century  back,  when  the  electric  telegraph 
was  unknown  and  the  horse  was  almost  the  only  locomotive.  The  system 
is  based  on  the  theory  that  time  is  regulated  everywhere  by  the  passage 
of  the  sun  over  the  meridian  of  each  separate  locality  ;  that  the  period 
between  any  two  solar  passages  at  any  one  place  is  divided  into  halves, 
known  as  ante-meridian  and  post-meridian,  each  half  being  subdivided 
into  twelve  hours,  and  that  the  two  halves  together  constitute  a  day. 

According  to  the  recognized  theory,  as  already  stated,  every  spot  on 
the  surface  of  the  globe  differing  in  longitude  has  an  entirely  dis- 
tinct day  and  a  local  time  peculiar  to  itself.  Except  on  the  same 
meridian  there  are  no  simultaneous  days  or  hours  or  minutes.  Every- 
where the  days  and  divisions  of  the  day  vary,  and  the  variations  are 
infinite. 

In  the  case  of  North  America,  the  contine^^t  extends  across  one  hun- 
dred and  five  degrees  of  longitude.  Within  its  extreme  eastern  and 
western  limits  it  is  possible  to  draw  many  thousand  distinct  meridians, 
and,  following  rigidly  the  prescribed  theory,  we  may  have  as  many  thou- 
sand standards  of  time,  not  two  of  which  would  be  in  harmony.  The 
railway  authorities  have  come  face  to  face  with  the  difficulty,  and  they 
have  from  time  to  time  met  it  as  circumstances  dictated.  In  order  to 
operate  the  long  lines  of  railway  with  some  degree  of  safety,  each  sepa- 


26 

rate  manager  has  been  obliged  to  ignore  the  different  local  times,  and 
arbitrarily  adopt  a  special  time  for  the  movement  of  trains  on  the  par- 
ticular lines  under  his  charge.  The  railway  guide-books  publish  at  least 
seventy- five  (75)  irregularly  chosen  standards  of  time,  employed  for  the 
running  of  trains  in  the  United  States  and  Canada.  Every  city  and 
town  of  importance  has  its  own  time,  occasionally  coinciding,  but  fre- 
quently differing  from  the  nearest  railway  standard.  The  public  have 
been  obliged  to  accommodate  themselves  to  this  irregular  system,  but  it 
has  become  exceedingly  inconvenient  and  irksonic,  and  a  scheme  which 
will  introduce  a  time-system  characterized  by  uniformity  and  simplicity 
cannot  fail  to  be  cordially  welcomed. 

For  the  reasons  stated,  an  earnest  movement  has  begun  in  America, 
with  the  view  of  establishing  reform  in  time-reckoning.  The  question  is 
engaging  the  attention  of  the  Canadian  Institute  of  Science,  the  Ameri- 
can Metrological  Society,  the  American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  the 
American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  and  other  soci- 
eties. The  community  generally  and  the  great  railway  and  telegraph 
interests  are  being  awakened  to  its  importance. 

It  is  felt  that  the  question  is  one  in  which  all  countries  have  an  inter- 
est, and  although  it  has  presented  itself,  possibly  more  prominently  in 
America  than  elsewhere,  it  is  felt  that  Americans  should  take  no  narrow 
view  of  a  scientific  matter  of  world-wide  interest. 

It  is  held  by  those  who  have  seriously  considered  the  subject,  that  a 
solution  of  the  problem  which  would  be  good  for  America  would  be 
advantageous  to  other  countries.  It  is  considered  that  in  introducing  a 
reform  in  time  reckoning  in  North  America,  the  system  should  be  such 
as  would  commend  itself  generally  ;  that  it  should  be  one  which  by  its 
appropriateness  and  simplicity  would  have  every  prospect  of  being 
adopted  ultimately  throughout  the  world. 

A  highly  important  feature  of  the  movement  is  to  take  every 
means  to  render  the  system  generally  acceptable,  so  that,  whenever  the 
necessity  may  arise  in  any  other  community  for  its  introduction,  it  may 
be  spontaneously  adopted  ;  a  course  calculated  to  secure  ultimately  com- 
plete uniformity  in  all  countries. 

I  beg  leave  to  submit  an  outline  of  a  proposition  for  defining  and  regu- 
lating civil  time  which  is  favored  in  many  quarters  in  Canada  and  the 
United  States  of  America. 

(See  Cosmopolitan  Scheme  for  Regulating  Time.) 


27 

It  must  be  evident  that  the  principles  laid  down  would  be  the  ready 
means  of  meeting  the  difficulties  to  which  I  have  referred,  and  that 
it  is  practicable  to  secure  uniformity,  great  simplicity,  perfect  ac- 
curacy and  complete  harmony.  The  times  of  places  widely  differing  in 
longitude  would  differ  only  by  entire  hours.  In  all  other  respects, 
standard  time  in  every  longitude  and  latitude  would  be  in  perfect  agree- 
ment. In  theory,  every  clock  in  the  world  would  indicate  some  one  of 
the  twenty-four  hours  at  the  same  instant,  and  there  would  be  perfect 
synchronism  with  the  minutes  and  seconds  throughout  the  globe. 

By  the  system  proposed,  instead  of  an  infinite  and  confusing  number 
of  local  days,  following  the  sun  during  each  diurnal  revolution  of  the 
earth,  we  should  have  twenty-four  well-defined  local  days  only  ;  each 
local  day  would  have  a  fixed  relation  to  the  others,  and  all  would  be 
governed  by  the  position  of  the  sun  in  respect  to  the  Prime  Meridian. 
These  twenty-four  local  days  would  succeed  each  other  at  intervals  of 
one  hour  during  each  successive  diurnal  revolution  of  the  globe.  The 
day  of  each  locality  would  be  known  by  the  letter  or  other  designation  of 
its  standard  meridian,  and  the  general  confusion  and  ambiguity  which  I 
have  set  forth  as  the  consequences  of  the  present  system  would  cease  to 
exist. 

Some  such  system  as  that  proposed  is  imperatively  demanded  in 
America.  '  It  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  general  adoption  of  the  scheme 
portrayed  would  be  conducive  to  the  convenience  of  all  mankind.  The 
first  step  towards  its  introduction  is  the  selection  of  an  initial  meridian 
for  the  world.  Accordingly  I  feel  justified  in  asking  you  favorably  to 
consider  the  resolutions  which  I  have  now  the  honor  to  submit. 


28 


APPENDIX  No.  4. 

This  in  a  revision  of  the  original  scheme  for  reg^dnting  time  published  in  the 
procesdings  of  the  Canadinn  Institute,  Toronto,  and  the  American  Metrological 
Society,  New  York.  Submitted  by  Sandford  Fleming,  Chairman  of  the  lipecial 
Committee. 

COSMOPOLITAN  SCHEME  FOR  REGULATING  TIME. 

1.  It  is  propo<«ed  to  establish  one  universal  standard  time  common  to 
all  peoples  throughout  the  world,  for  the  use  of  railways,  telegraphs  and 
steamboats,  for  the  purposes  of  trade  and  commerce,  for  general  scien- 
tiflo  observations,  and  for  every  ordinary  local  purpose. 

2.  It  is  proposed  that  standard  time,  everywhere,  shall  be  based  on 
the  one  unit  measure  of  time,  denoted  by  the  diurnal  revolution  of  the 
eai'th,  as  determined  by  the  mean  solar  passage,  at  one  particular 
meridian  to  be  selected  as  a  time  zero. 

3.  The  time  zero  to  coincide  with  the  initial  or  prime  meridian  to  be 
common  to  all  nations  for  computing  terrestrial  longitude. 

4.  The  time  zero  and  prime  meridian  of  the  world  to  be  established 
with  the  concurrence  of  civilized  nations  generally. 

5.  For  reasons  elsewhere  given  it  is  suggested  that  the  prime 
meridian  and  time  zero  shall  be  established  through  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
entirely  avoiding  the  land  of  any  nationalty,  as  shown  in  the  plate. 
(Fig.  No.  1.) 

6.  For  the  purpose  of  regulating  time  everywhere  it  is  proposed  that 
the  unit  measure,  determined  as  above,  shall  be  divided  into  twenty-four 
equal  parts,  and  that  these  parts  shall  be  defined  by  standard  time 
meridians,  established  around  the  globe,  fifteen  degrees  of  longitude  or 
one  hour  distant  from  each  other. 

7.  It  is  proposed  that  the  standard  time  meridians  shall  be  denoted 
by  the  letters  of  the  English  alphabet,  which,  omitting  J  and  V,  are 
twenty- four  in  number.  The  zero  meridian  to  be  lettered  Z ;  the  re- 
maining meridians  to  be  lettered  in  order  from  east  to  west,  as  shown 
on  the  plate    (See  Figs.  Nos.  1,  2,  3  and  4.) 

8.  It  is  proposed  that  standard  time,  determined  as  above,  shall  be 
employed  for  general  and  local  purposes  in  accordance  with  the  follow- 
ing definitions: 


29 

Standard  Time  fob  Oenebal  Fuiiposbb. 

9.  It  in  proposed  that  the  unit  measure  of  time,  determined  as  above, 
shall  be  held  to  be  a  day  absolute,  and  irrespective  of  the  periods  of 
light  and  darkness  which  vary  with  the  longitude,  to  be  common  to  the 
whole  world  for  all  non-local  purposes.  To  distinguish  it  from  ordinary 
local  days,  this  space  of  time  may  be  known  as  the  "  Oosmopolitan  "  or 
"  Cosmic  Day."  The  hours,  minutes  and  seconds  of  the  cosmic  day,  and 
the  days  themselves  may  be  distinguished  by  the  general  term  coatnie 
time. 

10.  Cosmic  time  may  be  used  to  promote  exactness  in  chronology  ;  it 
may  be  employed  in  astronomy,  navigation,  meteorology,  and  in  connec- 
tion with  synchronous  observations  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  It  may  be 
regarded  as  the  time  which  would  be  used  in  ocean  telegraphy  and  in  all 
operations  of  a  general  or  non-local  character. 

11.  It  is  proposed  to  distinguish  cosmic  from  local  time  by  denoting 
the  hours  of  the  former  by  letters,  and  of  the  latter,  as  at  present,  by 
numerab. 

12.  It  is  proposed  that  cosmic  time  shall  be  so  lettered  that  the  hours 
will  correspond  with  the  twenty-four  standard  time  meridians. 
When  the  sun  passes  meridians  G'  or  iV  it  will  be  G  or  N  time  of  the 
cosmic  day.  When  it  becomes  Z  time,  that  is  to  say,  when  the  (mean) 
sun  passes  the  zero  meridian,  at  that  moment,  one  cosmic  day  will  end 
and  another  begin. 

Standard  Time  for  Looaij  Purposes. 

13.  It  is  proposed  to  constitute  the  lettered  divisions  of  the  cosmic 
day,  standards  for  regulating  local  time  everywhere.  Thus  reducing  the 
number  of  standards  to  twenty -four  and  furnishing  a  ready  means  of 
passage  from  cosmic  to  local  time  and  from  one  local  to  any  other  local 
time. 

14.  It  is  intended  that  local  time  at  any  place  on  the  surface  of  the 
globe  shall  generally  be  regulated  by  the  standard  meridian  nearest  or 
most  convenient  to  such  place  in  longitude. 

15.  It  is  proposed  that  the  local  day  at  any  place  shall  commence 
twelve  hours  before,  and  end  twelve  hours  after  the  (mean)  solar  passage 
at  the  standard  meridian  which  governs  the  time  at  that  place.  Local 
days,  so  determined,  to  be  regarded  in  the  same  light  in  all  ordinary 
affairs  as  local  days  under  the  present  system. 


30 

16,  It  is  proposed  that  local  time  at  any  place  or  in  any  section  of 
country  shall  be  known  by  the  letter  of  the  particular  standard  meridian 
by  which  it  is  governed.  If  local  time  at  any  place  or  in  any  section  be 
governed  by  meridian  ^S*  it  may  be  known  as  Standard  S  time.  If  by 
meridian  T  it  may  be  distinguished  as  Standard  T  time  and  understood 
to  be  one  hour  later  than  standart  S,  two  hours  later  than  Standard  R, 
and  so  on. 

Ths  Dihtbidution  of  Stampabo  Timb. 

17.  It  is  proposed  that  standard  time  shall  be  determined  and  dissem- 
inated  under  Governmental  authority ;  that  time  signal  stations  be  es- 
tablished at  importtirt  centres  for  the  purpose  of  disseminating  correct 
time  with  precision,  and  that  all  the  railway  and  local  public  clocks  be 
controlled  electrically  from  the  public  time  stations,  or  otherwise  kept 
in  perfect  agreement. 

APPIilOATION  OF  THB  SYSTEM  IN  NORTH   AmEBIOA. 

18.  The  adoption  of  the  syatem  in  the  United  States  and  Canada, 
would,  exclusive  of  Newfoundland  and  Alaska,  have  the  effect  of  reduc- 
ing the  standards  of  time  to  four.  These  four  standards,  B,  S,  T  and 
U,  precisely  one  hour  apart,  would  govern  the  time  of  the  whole  coun- 
try, each  would  have  the  simplest  possible  relation  to  the  other,  and  all 
would  bear  equally  simple  relations  to  the  other  standards  of  the  world. 

19.  It  IS  not  proposed  to  prescribe  the  exact  limits  of  the  sections  of 
country  within  which,  time  would  be  regulated  by  each  standard.  In 
this  matter,  general  convenience  would  be  the  guiding  principle.  As  a 
rule  the  dirision  lines  would  assume  a  central  position  between  the 
standard  meridians.  There  would  be  no  difficulty  in  finding  division 
lines  either  natural,  political  or  commercial,  which  would  fall  about  mid- 
way between  each  of  the  four  meridians.  Probably  in  some  cases  a  city  or 
town  may  lie  equidistant  from  two  meridians.  In  such  cases  geograph- 
ical considerations,  business  relations,  and  other  local  circumstances, 
would  decide  which  standard  should  be  adopted.  The  time  used  by  the 
railways  would  be  determined  by  precisely  similar  considerations.  The 
time  tables  and  railway  clocks  would  always  clearly  indicate  the  stand* 
ards  which  regulated  the  running  of  trains  over  particular  sections. 

20.  It  is  suggested  that  standard  time  would  generally  prevail  in  the 
several  states  and  provinces  as  follows : 


m 


Stani>ari>  Time, 
Mkriuian  U. 


Cnlifornia. 

Nevada. 

Oregon. 

Wasliington  T. 

Br.  ColuinbiH. 

Vancouver  Island. 

Idaho. 

Utah. 

Arizona. 


STANUAnD  TiMK, 

Mkridian  T, 


Mexico. 

Texas. 

KnnMUS. 

Colorado. 

Nel)raa|{a. 

Wyoming. 

Dakota. 

Montana. 

Munitobn. 

Saskatchewan. 

Kcewadin. 


Standaki)  Timk, 
Mkriuian  8* 


Louiniana. 

Mis!-i»<tsi|)|>i. 

Alabama. 

AvkatmaH. 

Tennessee. 

Missouri. 

Kentucky. 

Illinois. 

Indiana. 

I  own. 

Minnesota. 

Wisconsin. 

Michigan. 


Standard  T(hr, 
Meridian  It. 


Florida. 

0  eorgia.  ' 

S.  Carolina. 

N.  Carolina. 

Virginia. 

Ohio. 

Maryland. 

Delaware. 

Pennsylvania. 

New  Jersey. 

New  York. 

Rhode  Island. 

Connecticut. 

Maosachusetts. 

Vermont. 

New  llampshirs, 

Maine.  ^,„   , 

Ontario. 

Quebec. 

New  Brunswick. 

Prince  Ed w'd  rid 

Nova  Scotia. 


21.  Reference  to  the  diagram  will  show  that  the  four  meridians,  U, 
T,  S  and  R,  at  intervals  each  from  the  other  of  one  hour,  would  effec- 
tively regulate  the  time  of  day  throughout  the  whole  extent  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  Canada  and  Mexico.  But  the  number  of  standards  can  be 
increased  or  reduced  without  interference  with  the  harmony,  and  cosmo- 
politan application  of  the  general  scheme.  Theories  have  been  advanced, 
still  further  to  reduce  the  number  of  standards.  If  two  st<uidards  be 
deemed  expedient  meridians  {/and  Rta&jhe  selected;  one  adapted  to 
the  eastern,  the  second  to  the  western  half  of  the  Continent.  If  on  the 
other  hand  the  opinion  prevail,  that  there  should  be  one  uniform  time 
for  the  whole  of  the  North  American  Continent,  meridian  ^S*  might  be 
selected.  Meridian  S  would  be  90<=>  to  the  east  of  the  Prime  Meridian 
proposed  for  all  nations.  It  would  pass  through  Lake  Superior  and 
the  Mississippi  Valley  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  It  would  be  generallj 
central,  and  would  best  suit  the  great  body  of  the  population. 

The  Division  of  the  Day  into  Houbs. 

22.  The  present  division  of  the  day  into  halves,  and  these  halves 
into  twelve  hours,  each  series  of  twelve  hours  being  numbered  identically, 


89 

leads  to  error  and  inconvenicnco.  This  division  necessitates  the  use 
of  the  expressions  ante  meridian  and  post  meridian,  or  forenoon  and 
afternoon,  or  the  contractions  a.  m.  and  p.  m.,  to  identify  the  particular 
half  day  to  which  any  hour  belongs.  In  railway  time  tables  the  expres- 
sions ordinarily  used  to  specify  the  half  day  ure  liable  to  be  omitted, 
misplaced  or  misiinderstood.  The  consequence  is  that  innumerable 
mistakes  are  made  and  uncertainty  freqiiently  arises. 

The  halving  of  the  day  and  the  use  of  dual  numberd  to  denote  the 
hours  is  a  very  old  practice,  but  it  confers  no  single  benefit ;  and, 
beyond  its  claim  to  antiquity,  has  nothing  whatever  to  recommend  it. 
While  it  will  doubtless  be  extremely  diiHcult  to  do  away  with  the  custom 
so  firmly  established  by  long  usage,  it  is  nevertheless  important  to  ascer* 
tain  what  change  would  be  most  advantageous,  and  what  modifications, 
if  any,  would  be  most  likely  sooner  or  later  to  meet  with  general  accept- 
anoe.     Two  alternative  plans  have  been  suggested. 

Firstly. — To  have  only  one  series  of  hours  in  the  day,  extending  frora 
midnight  to  midnight,  and  numbered  from  one  to  twenty-four  without 
interruption. 

Secondly. — To  number  the  hours  between  midnight  and  noon  (one  to 
twelve)  precisely  as  at  present,  and  to  denote  the  hours  between  noon 
and  midnight  by  letters  of  the  alphabet.  y 

Both  propositions  would  obviate  the  necessity  of  adding  words  of 
explanation,  or  otherwise  specifying,  whether  the  hours  were  forenoon 
or  afternoon.  The  first  would  be  extremely  simple.  The  second  would 
have  the  advantage  of  distinguishing  the  forenoon  from  the  afternoon 
hours  by  the  character  of  the  symbols  employed  to  denote  them.  The 
hours  of  the  first  half  of  the  day  would  be  known  by  numerals,  of  the 
second  half  by  letters.  The  second  plan  would  have  other  advantages 
to  recommend  it. 

The  employment  of  cosmic  time  letters  to  denote  the  hours  from 
noon  to  midnight,  in  local  reckoning,  would  make  the  designation  of 
the  afternoon  hours  everywhere  concurrent. 

According  to  the  scheme  herein  submitted  there  would  be,  be- 
tween the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  coasts,  four  standard  time  meridians, 
R,  8,  T  and  U.  (See  Fig.  4.)  The  relative  time  of  the  day  for 
a  few  hours  before  and  after  noon  under  these  several  meridians  would 
be  as  given  in  the  table  appended.  An  examination  will  show  that  under 
plan  number  two  the  noon  letter  in  every  instance  would  agree  with  the 


33 


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letter  by  which  the  standard  meridian  of  the  locality  would  be  known. 
Advancing  Avesterly,  local  time  would  become  one  hour  slower  from 
meridian  to  meridian,  as  indicated  by  the  numerals  which  denote  the 
forenoon  hours ;  while  the  afternoon  letters  would  everywhere  be  in 
perfect  agreement.  The  time  of  New  York  would  be  regulated  by 
Standard  R,  Chicago  by  Standard  S,  Denver  by  Standard  T,  and  San 
Francisco  by  Standard  U,  each  standard  differing  by  steps  of  one  hour, 
yet  at  any  given  hour  in  the  afternoon,  say  at  W,  it  wotild  bo  TF  o'clock 
at  the  same  moment  in  absolute  time  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific. 


K. 


FIQ.  I. 

/^rojecfion  on  thf  xuggestfi  fithrmij  Straii. 
•  ir  Pnnfic  Initial  J^eniitan 


DlAOKAMS  T(i  ; 

COSMOPOLITAN    SCHEME    I 

FIG.  2. 

frnffCfttin    ^0"  \Vf.ilf'/ri    rrnm    thf    zrro 


T(i  ACCOMIANY 

FOR    REGULATING    TIME. 


ovrf* 


FIQ.  3. 

f'rojertim   \  Mil"  U',tl,r/i/    Irnin   thi-   i'rn 
TUT  I  l„iri 


FIQ,  4 

I'rojretinn   270"  Wftlrrlii  trvm  t/u  zrru 


